It might not be the best idea to delve into the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “Defect Levels Handbook” right before you sit down for a meal. This document outlines the permissible levels of “defects” in over 100 different foods, specifying exactly how much rodent excrement can be present in your cocoa beans (up to 10 milligrams per pound), the acceptable number of insect heads in the fig paste used in your cookies (up to 13 per 3.5 ounces), and the allowable quantity of maggots tunneling in your tomatoes. The question naturally arises: Why Does The Fda Allow Bugs In Food?
The FDA clarifies that these “food defects” are unavoidable byproducts of growing and processing food and pose no health risk as long as they remain below the defined “action levels.” Let’s take a closer look at some of the more unsettling items the FDA permits in your food.
Insect Parts
The FDA rarely allows whole insects in food. However, insect parts are another matter. The handbook indicates that heads, legs, and other insect fragments are commonly allowed, especially in spices.
For instance, ground cinnamon can contain up to an average of 400 insect fragments per 50 grams. Ground marjoram can contain up to an average of 1,175 insect fragments per 10 grams. Similarly, both crushed and ground oregano are permitted to contain insect body parts. Crushed oregano can contain up to an average of 300 insect fragments per 10 grams, while ground oregano can contain up to an average of 1,250 insect fragments per 10 grams.
Rodent Poop
The FDA euphemistically refers to rodent poop as “mammalian excreta.” This defect appears 15 times in the FDA’s handbook.
Fennel seeds, ginger, and mace (a spice similar to nutmeg) can contain up to an average of 3 milligrams of mammal excrement per pound. For sesame seeds, the limit is slightly higher, at up to an average of 5 mg per pound. Cocoa beans can contain up to 10 mg of excrement per pound.
For certain foods, the handbook provides more specific limits. Wheat, for example, can contain up to an average of 9 rodent excrement pellets per kilogram (about 4 pellets per pound). Popcorn can contain up to 1 poop pellet in a subsample.
Mold
The FDA’s handbook mentions mold 33 times. While sometimes considered merely an aesthetic defect, mold can pose a health risk if present in excessive amounts or specific types. Certain molds produce mycotoxins, which can cause illness. Foods that may contain these types of mold include allspice, ground red pepper, ground paprika, cocoa beans, and green coffee beans.
Other mold allowances are aesthetic, such as the low levels permitted in tomato products like canned tomatoes, tomato juice, sauce, and ketchup.
The FDA also allows up to an average of 5 percent of bay leaves in a sample by weight to be moldy, with the same allowance for pieces of cinnamon bark. Canned and frozen peaches can contain up to 3 percent of fruit that is “wormy or moldy.”
Insect Heads
The FDA allows one specific defect in fig paste: insect heads. Up to 13 insect heads are acceptable in every 100 grams of fig paste. These heads may enter the product at any stage – before or after fig harvesting, or during processing.
Mites
Mushrooms may contain the most mites, with up to an average of 75 mites allowed per 100 grams of canned or dried mushrooms. Frozen broccoli isn’t far behind, with up to an average of 60 mites allowed per 100 grams. (Broccoli can only contain up to a total of 60 mites, thrips, or aphids.)
Canned or frozen spinach can have up to 50 mites (or thrips or aphids) per 100 grams, but only if it also doesn’t have two or more “spinach worm” larvae exceeding 3 millimeters in length.
Maggots
Maggots are allowed in various tomato products, including canned tomatoes (up to one maggot per 500 grams) and tomato juice and tomato paste (up to one maggot per 100 grams for both).
For brined or maraschino cherries, a sample is considered acceptable if no more than 5 percent of the cherries are rejected for containing maggots.
Canned citrus fruit juice can contain up to one maggot per 250 milliliters (about 1 cup), but juice containing a maggot cannot also have five or more fly eggs.
Mushrooms can have up to 20 maggots of any size per 100 grams, or up to five maggots if they are longer than 2 mm. Maggots are considered an aesthetic defect.
Rodent Hair
Rodent hairs are commonly allowed in spices: allspice, paprika, cinnamon, curry powder, and marjoram can all contain some rodent hair.
Ground sage has the highest allowable level of rodent hair, with up to nine hairs allowed in every 10 grams. Ground marjoram may have up to eight hairs per 10 grams, paprika may have up to 11 hairs per 25 grams, and ground capsicum may have up to six hairs per 25 grams. Allspice and nutmeg are allowed up to just one hair per 10 grams.
Rodent hair is also allowed in peanut butter, popcorn, apple butter, chocolate, cocoa powder, corn meal, and macaroni.
Pits
Pits are one of the few defects that are not just aesthetic – the hard centers of certain fruits can also cause mouth and tooth injuries.
A few pits are allowed in pitted dates, olives, and prunes, according to the FDA’s handbook.
Foreign Matter
The FDA defines foreign matter as “objectionable” materials, including sticks, stones, burlap bagging, and even cigarette butts. Foreign matter is considered an aesthetic defect.
Some foreign matter is allowed in mace (a spice similar to nutmeg), whole black or white pepper, and sesame seeds.
In conclusion, while the presence of these “defects” may seem unsettling, the FDA’s regulations ensure that these levels remain safe for consumption. Understanding why does the FDA allow bugs in food involves recognizing the practical limitations of food production and processing. These allowances represent a balance between eliminating all defects (which would be economically and practically impossible) and protecting public health.
